Roadwarden
"It’s the work of the Red Band. Look, there’s a clear trail into the trees. We bury the dead then we take the Emperor’s justice into this forest. Leave none alive." Basic (Core) The Empire consists of pockets of civilisation tenuously connected to each other by roads and rivers. Much of the land is heavily forested, and such terrain is home to bandits, Mutants, Beastmen, and Goblins. Merely travelling from one city to another is an adventure, despite the constant vigilance of the Roadwardens. These lawmen patrol the roads and tracks of the Empire, protecting travellers and their goods. Since their numbers are small, they work with local militia and Soldiers to deal with larger threats. Most of the time though, it is up to small groups of Roadwardens to deal with all but the worst hazards. Main Profile Secondary Profile Skills: Animal Care, Common Knowledge (the Empire) or Gossip, Drive, Follow Trail or Secret Signs (Scout), Navigation, Outdoor Survival, Perception, Ride, Search Talents: Quick Draw or Rapid Reload, Specialist Weapons Group (Gunpowder) Trappings: Pistol with 10 Firearm Balls and Gunpowder, Medium Armour (Mail Shirt and Leather Jack), Shield, 10 Yards of Rope, Light Warhorse with Saddle and Harness (or Pony for Halfling) Career Entries Coachman, Ferryman, Messenger, Outrider, Watchman Career Exits Highwayman, Messenger, Outlaw, Outrider, Scout, Sergeant, Toll Keeper Watchers of the Road Road wardens operate in small groups led by a sergeant, recruited from fearless local men with intimate knowledge of wilderness surrounding their communities. They patrol their stretch of road ceaselessly, always on the watch for danger. Their base of operation are the inns that dot the roads, and the innkeeper, grateful for their protection, is happy to provide them with a bed, hot meal, and stabling for free. Road warden groups serve under a captain, who is based in the nearest town. He liaisons closely with the town watch, who are responsible for delivering justice to the outlaws the captain’s men bring in. In more remote areas, where Imperial control is light, road wardens adopt the role of judge, jury, and executioner. The roadside inns are their court and the trees at the forest’s edge their gallows, where the condemned are left to hang as a warning to other renegades. An important function of the road wardens is to carry news to the scattered settlements along their patrol. They are the only face of the Emperor’s justice these isolated communities might ever meet, and as such are treated with great respect. Road Wardens in Popular Literature The sight of a road warden patrol is so ubiquitous on the roads of the Empire that they have acquired an almost legendary status. Ballads are sung around tavern fires extolling their virtues and deeds. With the advent of the printing press, these stories endure within the pages of cheap, popular chapbooks with titles such as Murder at a Dark House and The Bride of Death. These tales enthrall rich and poor alike, the illiterate crowding around a tavern hearth to hear a professional reader recount the latest adventures. The central figure of these chapbooks is the legendary Tod Schlachten, a taciturn, ruggedly handsome hero who cuts a dashing figure in his greatcoat and wide-brimmed hat atop his black steed, Celerus. In each adventure he hounds his prey to justice, the aim of his pistol always true. The stories always end with him spurning the advances of a nobleman’s daughter he has rescued from the clutches of forest raiders. Actual road wardens are flattered by this depiction. The perils described in these stories are an everyday reality for them, though they bemoan the fact that it is usually a fat merchant they are saving, and never a buxom noble lady.